miamivicefandomcom-20200223-history
James "Sonny" Crockett
James "Sonny" Crockett (played by Don Johnson, b. 1953) is a Detective Sergeant of the Metro-Dade Police Department and an undercover detective in the Organized Crime Bureau - Vice Division. Crockett comes across as an aloof, laid-back, Southern policeman but in reality is a very dedicated officer who plays "by the book" and is tenacious to catch the criminals and get them off the street. He is a divorcee with one child, a son named Billy (b. 1978). Life before Vice A former University of Florida Gators football star, once running a pass 92 yards with six seconds remaining in a game against Alabama, and also starred in the Gator Bowl where he caught the winning pass, and was awarded the game ball. He later sustained an injury which put an end to his sports career. He was subsequently drafted by the U.S Army, and served 2 tours in Vietnam or, as he calls it, the "Southeast Asia Conference", where he served with a reporter named Ira Stone, who brought him in on a scam ran by a man named Maynard who was having heroin stashed inside body bags during the fall of Saigon in 1975, as well as Robbie Cann, who would later make Crockett the godfather of his newborn son when they were "back in the world". Crockett would later sympathize with the plight of the 'Nam vets after the war ended, being one himself, taking great care when they had to be interviewed as part of ongoing investigations to maintain their dignity. Joining Vice Shortly after his Vietnam tours ended, he became a Metro-Dade uniformed patrol officer, then came up under Lieutenant John Malone in Robbery before finally transferring to the Organized Crime Bureau, Vice Division, and became an undercover detective, utilizing confiscated clothing, cars, and boats to maintain his "cover"--Sonny Burnett, a drug runner & middleman. He had four partners, Frankel, who worked with him until 1980, when he was killed by a man who would haunt Crockett throughout his life, Hackman. Later Scottie Wheeler became his partner until he moved to the DEA, he was replaced by Eddie Rivera, who later was killed in 1984 by a Colombian drug dealer named Calderone in a car bombing. He would finally team up with a former NYPD Armed Robbery detective named Ricardo Tubbs, a partnership that lasted five years. His compassion for people he feels in his heart can change is rivaled only by his tenacity to put the bad guys away. When he started in Vice he felt he could make a difference, by the end of his career his attitude completely changed to one of a burned out cop who felt ham-strung by corrupt politicians, judges, and lawyers. Career In Vice Crockett came up the ranks with two fellow Academy graduates, Mike Orgell & Evan Freed. They were, in Crockett's words, "the Three Musketeers", on the streets, "green as hell". Orgell's death at the hands of a suspect (after being outed as gay due to a Vice operation on bars and the fact Crockett said or done nothing about Evan's harassment of his friend) left Crockett with years of guilt until he & Evan were involved in a case together where Crockett was redeemed after Evan saved Crockett's life. After Rivera's death, Crockett began a "temporary working relationship" with Ricardo Tubbs that became a five-year partnership, the two of them helped bring down numerous drug cartels, including the Calderone's and the Revilla's. Their teamwork was a combination of Crockett's by-the-book and keen interest in cases and Tubbs' steady hand and background work. Crockett also backed up the others on his team, helping Trudy Joplin through her first shooting hearing, Gina Calabrese with her first undercover assignment, Stan Switek on his gambling problems, fiercely defending Larry Zito's record from IAD's finding of an overdose after Zito's murder, and his Lieutenant, Marty Castillo, when a corrupt politician attempted to frame, then kill him. Crockett was looked on as the second-in-command of OCB, but he would rather work in the field than be hind a desk. Crockett's belief in the justice system began to erode after encountering numerous corruption in politics, law enforcement, justice, and lawyers handcuffing his attempts to stop the spread of drugs in Miami, which combined with personal tragedy, began to gradually burn him out, which accelerated when he was injured in an explosion which resulted in amnesia and his believing he was Sonny Burnett, his drug-dealing cover, and taking over two drug cartels before reverting to his former self, but also causing his team to doubt his loyalty. Crockett survived being shot once in the line of duty by the girlfriend of a dealer. He always carries his normal sidearm in a shoulder holster as well as a strap-on gun on his ankle. His Vietnam training as well as his police training serve him well in difficult situations. His relationships with his former Robbery partners (such as Lt. Malone, Ebersole and others) helped him solve many Vice cases. In the fifth year of his partnership with Tubbs, the personal and professional tragedies caused him to spin into a feeling of burnout, evidenced when he went to police-ordered psychological evaluations after his "Sonny Burnett" saga, he felt he wasn't doing anything that was making a difference in the "war on drugs", that if he succeeded in busting two major cartels, another five or so were in the wings to replace them. His feeling was temporarily relieved when Castillo was shot by the campaign manager of a corrupt politician, where he made the difference by busting the people responsible, but the feeling accelerated until after a mission to save a despot from Central America turned into a government-ran setup, which caused him to quit the force in disgust, and take his "stolen" Ferrari "somewhere further south, where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players." Personal Life Crockett had an older brother, Jake, that protected him from bullies in their youth. He also had a cousin, Jack, that was into all kinds of get-rich-quick schemes, frauds, and bait-and-switch that got him (and Sonny) into trouble with the mob and a drug dealer. Sonny got them out of the fix Jack caused and sent him on his way with $500,000 in counterfeit currency. Crockett was married to Caroline, with whom he had his son, William "Billy". Years of the Vice lifestyle (including a hit-man nearly killing all of them) caused their marriage to end, resulting in a painful divorce. Crockett began an on-again, off-again relationship with fellow Vice cop Gina Calabrese, seeming to be "on-again" when one or both needed comfort or someone to talk to. His other relationships were with a high-profile architect named Brenda, which caused him to sway from his duties, resulting in Tubbs being beaten up by a suspect. Then he moved on to Margaret, a New York woman who turned out to be working for someone trying to stop him from his job, followed by Sarah, a flight stewardess who kept him company on her return flights to Miami (and died after one of the cocaine balloons in her GI tract came open), Dr. Theresa Lyons, who was a drug addict that he got help for in another state, then Christine Von Marburg, who was a madam. He later met singer Caitlin Davies on assignment, they fell in love and married in a whirlwind romance, but she was killed over a year later by Hackman, a Crockett enemy, and was pregnant with their child when she died. After Caitlin's death, Crockett had no further relationships, but as his alter-ego, Sonny Burnett, he had flings with Moroto's art director Polly Wheeler, and Carrera's trophy wife Celeste. Appearance and Style In a vague sense, Crockett's appearance and style do not change much; He is always known to have blonde hair and a sun tan, and is usually seen sporting a 5 o'clock shadow and wearing a loose fitting suit over a t-shirt, paired with deck shoes or loafers without socks. However, over the seasons various aspects of Crockett's appearance change; In the first season Crockett's hairstyle is short and parted over on the side; In the second season it becomes slightly longer in the front and becomes a combed back bouffant-like style; In the third season Crockett's hairstyle becomes short and spikey, and gradually grows out in the back, making it mullet-like; In the fourth season Crockett's hairstyle reverts back to being bouffant-like in the front and remains mullet-like, and grows out as the season progresses; For the fifth season Crockett is first portrayed with a stylish ponytail until he regains his memory, after which his hairstyle becomes long and parted over on one side and continues to grow to its longest length. In the first two seasons Crockett's suits and shirts are tailored in pastel colors, while they are instead dark neons for the third season; In the fourth season Crockett's clothing style becomes a mixture of his first two looks; In the fifth season Crockett wears darker ahades different from the other seasons and also begins being seen half the time with stonewashed blue jeans and/or a jean jacket paired with sneakers or cowboy boots. In the very early portion of the first season, Crockett wears brown Carrera 5512 Large sunglasses; For most of the first season and all of the second season, Crockett wears tuortise shell Ray Ban Wayfers. In the third season, Crockett either wears tuortise shell Persol 69218 Ratti or black Persol 09219 Ratti with mirrored lenses. For the fourth and fifth seasons, Crockett wears black Ray Ban Wayfers. Cars & Boats Crockett drove confiscated drug-dealer cars, mainly expensive sports cars, to maintain his cover as a high-rolling drug dealer. His cars included: Black 1968 Porsche 911 (opening sequence of Forgive Us Our Debts) Black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder (seasons 1-2 and two episodes of season 3) White 1986 Ferrari Testarossa (remainder of series) He also had a Wellcraft SCARAB 38' KV cigarette boat that was modified to be a rapid-response smuggling boat, as well as his residence, the St. Vitus Dance, parked in a Miami marina, where he lives with his pet alligator, Elvis, former mascot for his alma mater Florida Gators. Previously before owning his Wellcraft Scarab 38 KV, he owned a 1984 Chris Craft Stinger 390x, seen notably in the episode "Calderone's Return II: Calderone's Demise." Guns In the first episode, Crockett carried a SIG Sauer P220 chambered in .45 auto, and a Detonics Pocket 9 in 9mm on his ankle. The Detonics Pocket 9 would appear sporadically over the 1st season. From that point on he carried the brand new at the time Dornhaus & Dixon Bren Ten chambered in 10mm. For the first two seasons Crockett also carried a Detonics Combat Master in .45 in his ankle holster. At the beginning of the 3rd season the Bren Ten was retired, due to Dornhaus and Dixon going out of business, thus he was given a Smith and Wesson 645 in .45. At the beginning of the 5th and final season, Crockett was issued the brand new, updated version of the 645, the M4506, chambered in .45. Crockett also used many auxillary weapons throughout the series including a STEYR AUG in the episode "Out Where the Buses Don't Run", a H&K Mp5 in "Calderone's Demise", and an Armsel Striker 12 gauge in the final episode, "Freefall." Category:Miami Vice Characters